Rob Colquhoun

My new blog is Love Undefiled:

 loveundefiled.blogspot.com

Enjoy! 

Parents are educators because they are parents (Gaudium et Spes 16). They are the first witnesses for their children as their guardians of freedom. Parents have the original, primary and inalienable obligation to be the principal and primary educators of their children. Their desires for religious convictions should be respected and education should be in conformity with their religious convictions. Parents should be able to train their children to have a responsible use of the media. The Church can offer assistance with the education of children but it should never unnecessarily usurp the role of principal educator. As the family is the arena for the formation of persons, the continuity of society depends on its strength.

In the United Kingdom certain cases have arisen whereby this self evident truth has been dismissed as anachronistic. Government guidelines allowing doctors to provide abortion advice or contraceptives to young people without their parent’s knowledge has been approved by the department of health. Sue Axon from Manchester lost her case in the high court in 2005 attempted to ensure parents are allowed to know. Victoria Gillick attempted to overturn DHSS guidelines in 1980 about the provision of confidential contraceptive treatment. Her case was dismissed in 1983, only to be overturned by an appeal court. But in 1985 the Lords upheld the right of doctors to prescribe contraceptives to girls under 16, without the consent of parents. It is sheer arrogance to presume that parents are not the best people to provide advice on contraceptives, STDs and abortion, and important that parents should be given rights over information for their families.  

This year’s conference saw a youth track and a Spanish set of talks in action for the first time. The organisers noted that the message does not change but the carriers of the message do. Abstinence educators were described as life changers, leaders and role models for the next generation, helping young people to save sex until marriage. One of the first plenary speakers was Doctor Tom Lickona who reflected on the ten emotional dangers of pre marital sex. Kim Cernovsek talked about the medical arguments for abstinence from the perspective of a dermatologist. The overwhelming prevalence of the HPV virus was frequently mentioned as well as strategies to increase awareness and prevent transmission. Keith Deltano talked of the need for both comedy and evidence of effectiveness of abstinence education.

Many of the conference delegates where aware of the need to develop skills to be able to communicate well to teenagers: dance, comedy, theatre, music, stunning multimedia displays and rap were used to bring the message to save sex until marriage. The news of an extension to the title V fund, a federal funding program to promote abstinence, was warmly welcomed. Fundraising initiatives were discussed by Dan Morgan and Rob Siedlecki. Lakita Garth and Keith Deltano described how to bring a media message to websites popular with teenagers.

The conference also included an excellent new documentary for teenagers called ‘look before you leap.’ This is a creative drama and comedy using skydiving as a metaphor for sex in order to encourage healthy relationships. The conference culminated with a banquet, awards dinner and talent contest called abstinence idol to find the best entertainer. Overall, the conference was an impressive way for those working with young people to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.